a^Vr\  -  pi  o 


5 


8 

3 

8 

0' 

0 

g 

g 


45 


0 

S 


s 


8 


[0 

45 


8 

yi 


i 

if 


$ 

45 


0 

45 


r- 

8 


8 

iV/ 


55 

8 

8 


o 

45 


8 

8 

o' 

0 

45 

8 

g 

g 

45 


MISSIONARY  HEROES  COURSE 


LIFE  STORIES  OF  GREAT  MISSIONARIES  FOR 

TEEN  AGE  BOYS 


ARRANGED  IN  PROGRAMS 


John  Kenneth  Mackenzie 

Beloved  Physician  of  Tientsin 


« 


SOURCE  BOOK 

JOHN  KENNETH  MACKENZIE,  MEDICAL 
MISSIONARY  TO  CHINA" 

By  MRS.  MARY  F.  BRYSON 


Program  Prepared 

FLOYD  L.  CARR 


Baptist  Board  of  Education 

DEPARTMENT  OF  MISSIONARY  EDUCATION 

276  FIFTH  AVENUE.  NEW  YORK  CITY 


1 


i 


o 

8 

55 


« 

45 


8 

I 

o 


1 

l 


8 


0 


TV 

45 


I 


0 

g 

45 


8 


o 

g 

55 


Course  No. 


John  Kenneth  Mackenzie 

Beloved  Physician  of  Tientsin 


SOURCE  BOOK 


“John  Kenneth  Mackenzie,  Medical 
Missionary  to  China" 

By  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Bryson 


Baptist  Board  of  Education 

DEPARTMENT  OF  MISSIONARY  EDUCATION 

276  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 


OUTLINE 


Page 


Introductory  Statement 

Program  for  Meeting  . 

Life  Sketch  . 

Life  Incidents  . 


2 

Q 


4 

7 


Program  based  upon  John  Kenneth  Mackenzie,  Medical 

Missionary  to  China 
by  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Bryson 
Fleming  H.  Revel  1  Company,  $1.50 

FOREWORD 

HE  Missionary  Heroes  Course  for  Boys  meets  a  real  need. 


i  It  is  a  series  of  missionary  programs  for  boys  based  on  great 
biographies  which  every  boy  should  know.  Courses  Number 
One  and  Number  Two  are  now  available,  each  providing  pro¬ 
grams  for  twelve  months,  which  may  be  used  in  the  monthly 
meetings  of  boys’  groups.  Other  courses  are  in  preparation  and 
will  be  issued  for  subsequent  years. 

It  is  suggested  that  the  leader  purchase  two  copies  of  each 
booklet ;  one  to  be  kept  for  reference  and  the  other  to  be  cut  up 
to  provide  each  boy  with  his  assigned  part.  Some  may  prefer 
to  purchase  one  booklet  and  typewrite  the  parts  for  assignment. 
In  order  to  tie  together  the  life  incidents  as  they  are  presented 
by  the  boys,  the  leader  should  master  the  facts  outlined  in  the 
biographical  sketch  and  read  carefully  the  volume  upon  which 
the  program  is  based.  These  volumes  are  missionary  classics 
and  may  be  made  the  basis  of  a  worthwhile  library  of  Christian 
adventure. 

Boys  are  keenly  interested  in  Stories  of  adventure  and  achieve¬ 
ment  and  it  is  hoped  that  participation  in  the  programs  will  lead 
many  of  the  lads  to  read  these  great  missionary  biographies.  At¬ 
tention  is  called  to  the  twenty-three  other  life-story  programs  now 
available  for  Courses  Number  One  and  Number  Two,  both  of 
which  are  listed  on  the  last  page.  The  books  upon  which  these 
programs  are  based  can  be  ordered  from  the  nearest  literature 
headquarters.  Portraits  of  these  missionary  heroes  are  also  avail¬ 
able  for  purchase  at  fifteen  cents  a  copy. 

While  these  programs  have  been  developed  to  meet  the  needs 
of  boys’  organizations  of  all  types- — i.e.,  Organized  Classes,  Boy 
Scouts,  Knights  of  King  Arthur,  Kappa  Sigma  Pi,  etc., — they 
were  especially  prepared  for  the  chapters  of  the  Royal  Ambas¬ 
sadors ,  a  missionary  organization  for  teen  age  boys  originating 
in  the  Southland  and  recently  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  North¬ 
ern  Baptist  Convention  by  the  Department  of  Missionary  Edu¬ 
cation.  We  commend  these  materials  to  all  lovers  of  boys. 


William  A.  Hill. 


PROGRAM  FOR  MEETING 

1.  Scripture  Reading:  Matthew  7:7-12,  especially  verse  7, 
“Ask  and  it  shall  be  given  you  .  .  .  .”  (See  pages  177-179 
of  “John  Kenneth  Mackenzie,”  by  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Bryson 
and  excerpt  No.  11,  following.) 

2.  Prayer. 

3.  Hymn :  “  I  Ve  Found  a  Friend,  0  Such  a  Friend.  ’  ’  Intro¬ 
duce  the  hymn  with  the  story  of  his  decision  to  follow  Jesus 
Christ.  (See  pages  9  and  30  of  the  above  book  and  excerpt 
No.  6,  following.) 

4.  Introduction  to  the  Life  Story #  (based  upon  the  sketch  in 
this  program.) 

5.  His  Parentage  and  Early  Employment  (pages  4,  5-6,  7-8.) 

6.  His  Conversion  (pages  8,  9,  10-11). 

7.  His  Decision  to  go  to  China  (pages  23-24). 

8.  His  First  “Test”  Case  (pages  46-47). 

9.  Increasing  Usefulness  (pages  57-59) . 

10.  Methods  of  the  Chinese  Doctors  (pages  102-103). 

11.  Called  to  Treat  the  Wife  of  Li  Hung  Chang  (pages  177- 
179). 

12.  A  Morning  at  the  Hospital  (pages  213-215). 

13.  Founds  a  Medical  College  (pages  229-230,  231). 

14.  Death,  of  Pneumonia,  in  his  38th  year  (pages  361,  363, 
367). 

15.  Present  Day  Medical  Progress  in  China  (pages  64-66  of 
“The  Business  of  Missions,”  by  Cornelius  H.  Patton.) 


*  The  leader  should  read  the  brief  sketch  in  this  pamphlet,  and  also  the  “Life 
of  John  Kenneth  Mackenzie,”  by  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Bryson.  A  splendid  short  sketch  will 
be  found  in  “Ministers  of  Mercy,”  by  James  A.  Franklin. 


3 


SKETCH  OF  THE  LIFE  OF 
JOHN  KENNETH  MACKENZIE 


JOHN  KENNETH  MACKENZIE  was  born  of  Scotch- Welsh 
parentage  on  August  25,  1850,  at  Yarmouth,  England.  While 
he  was  still  very  young,  his  parents  moved  to  Bristol  and  here 
his  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent.  He  left  school  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  and  entered  business  as  a  clerk  in  a  merchant ’s  office. 

His  first  religious  impressions  were  received  in  1867,  when 
he  heard  Dwight  L.  Moody,  who  addressed  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  meeting 
in  Bristol.  One  year  later  on  May  10,  1868,  at  another  “Y” 
meeting,  he  made  a  complete  surrender  of  his  heart  to  Jesus 
Christ.  In  the  fall  he  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  and 
became  an  active  Christian  worker. 

During  the  next  year,  the  reading  of  a  leaflet,  “The  Double 
Cure  or  What  is  a  Medical  Mission?”  fixed  his  thought  on  pre¬ 
paring  for  medical  service  on  the  foreign  field.  At  first  his  parents 
would  not  consent  to  this  change  in  his  life-program.  Three 
Christian  friends  made  it  a  matter  of  prayer  and,  to  his  great 
joy,  his  parents  finally  gave  their  consent.  In  the  fall  of  1870 
he  entered  the  Bristol  Medical  School.  Upon  his  graduation,  he 
took  a  special  course,  that  later  proved  to  be  invaluable  to  him, 
at  the  Royal  Ophthalmic  Hospital  in  London. 

On  the  day  that  he  passed  his  final  examinations,  his  eye  fell 
upon  an  item  in  the  Edinburgh  Medical  Missionary  Journal  con¬ 
cerning  a  vacancy  in  the  London  Missionary  Society ’s  hospital  at 
Hankow.  He  at  once  offered  his  services  and  on  December  15, 
1874,  was  appointed  to  the  vacancy.  Four  months  later  he  was 
on  his  way  to  China. 

June  8,  1875,  marks  the  beginning  of  his  thirteen  glorious 
years  of  service  to  China,  for  on  that  day  he  arrived  at  Hankow, 
joining  Griffith  John,  whose  able  evangelistic  leadership  had  re¬ 
sulted  in  the  development  of  a  strong  work.  But  he  found  the 
Chinese  far  from  eager  to  avail  themselves  of  his  skill.  The  story 
that  the  foreign  doctors  made  their  medicines  from  pulverized 
babies’  eyes  was  still-currently  accepted.  Finally,  the  serious 
illness  of  a  Chinese  Christian,  a  deacon  in  the  Church,  gave  the 
crucial  opportunity.  Five  Chinese  doctors  had  failed  to  help  the 
deacon  and  he  was  sinking  rapidly.  When  the  sick  man  recovered 


4 


'  it  turned  the  tide  and  confidence  was  established.  During  the 
second  year  at  Hankow,  more  than  1,000  patients  were  cared  for 
in  the  hospital  and  over  11,000  treated  in  the  dispensary.  Few 
can  visualize  what  these  figures  mean  in  the  relief  of  human  woe, 
misery  and  suffering. 


Dr.  Mackenzie,  before  sailing  for  China,  had  won  the  promise 
of  Millicent  Travers  of  his  home  city  to  join  him  in  China  after 
he  had  mastered  the  language  and  gained  a  foothold.  Miss 
Travers  sailed  for  China  in  the  fall  of  1876  and  on  January  9, 
1877,  they  were  united  in  marriage.  The  climate  at  Hankow, 
however,  was  found  to  be  unfavorable  to  Mrs.  Mackenzie ’s  health 
and  early  in  March,  1879,  he  was  transferred  to  Tientsin. 


When  he  reached  Tientsin  he  found  that  not  only  was  there 
no  hospital  or  dispensary  but  there  was  not  even  an  appropriation 
for  the  purchase  of  medicine.  The  Mission  staff  adopted  a  resolu¬ 
tion  requesting  the  London  Missionary  Society  to  grant  money 
for  medicines.  Five  months,  however,  must  pass  before  a  reply 
could  be  expected.  Dr.  Mackenzie  decided  to  petition  Li  Hung 
Chang,  the  Viceroy  of  the  Province,  whose  residence  was  at 
Tientsin.  The  petition  was  graciously  received  by  the  great 
statesman  but  months  passed  without  an  answer.  On  August  1, 
1879,  the  workers  were  assembled  for  their  weekly  prayer  meet¬ 
ing  and  were  considering  the  promise,  “Ask,  and  ye  shall  re¬ 
ceive,”  when  they  were  cheered  by  a  message  from  Li  Hung 
Chang  summoning  Dr.  Mackenzie  to  treat  his  wife.  She  had 
been  given  up  as  dying  by  the  Chinese  doctors.  God’s  hour  of 
opportunity  had  struck.  After  six  days  of  anxious  ministry, 
Lady  Li  was  declared  out  of  danger.  Dr.  Howard,  a  woman 
physician  from  Peking,  was  then  summoned  to  care  for  her 
until  she  had  fully  recovered. 


From  now  on,  high  and  low  were  favorably  disposed.  The 
Viceroy  consented  to  witness,  with  his  court,  the  performing  of 
several  operations.  The  magic  of  Western  surgery  under  the 
boon  of  anesthetics  made  a  profound  impression.  Li  Hung  Chang 
immediately  set  apart  a  quadrangle  in  one  of  the  finest  temples 
and  placed  over  it  the  sign:  “Free  Hospital,”  guaranteeing  the 
annual  expense.  When  the  growing  work  necessitated  a  hospital 
building,  he  both  authorized  a  public  appeal  and  made  his  own 
generous  subscription.  On  December  2,  1880,  he  graciously  pre¬ 
sided  at  the  dedication  exercises.  Writing  at  this  time  to  a  friend 
Dr.  Mackenzie  said:  “The  work  is  now  only  limited  to  our 
strength  and  capacity.  May  God  give  us  strength  in  our  great 
weakness.  ” 


Toward  the  close  of  the  following  year,  Dr.  Mackenzie  estab¬ 
lished,  with  the  aid  of  the  Viceroy,  a  small  medical  college  in 

5 


connection  with  his  hospital  at  Tientsin.  Several  Chinese  stu¬ 
dents  had  been  recalled  from  America  after  having  covered  but 
the  first  half  of  their  medical  course.  While  he  had  some  assis¬ 
tance  from  other  physicians,  there  were  times  when  he  was,  to 
quote  his  phrase,  “a  whole  medical  faculty  in  himself.”  By  1887 
nineteen  young  men,  pioneers  in  the  van  of  a  nob^e  battalion,  had 
completed  their  medical  course,  and  were  given  government  posi¬ 
tions  with  the  Army  and  Navy. 

During  the  last  year  of  his  medical  ministry,  the  records  show 
that  nine  were  under  instruction  in  the  medical  school,  that 
nearly  six  hundred  were  cared  for  in  the  hospital  and  that  more 
than  thirteen  thousand  were  treated  in  the  dispensary.  But 
Dr.  Mackenzie  was  not  content  to  minister  merely  to  the  bodies 
of  his  patients.  In  his  article,  entitled  “The  Double  Cure,”  he 
says:  “Let  us  not  be  satisfied  with  mere  crowds  flocking  to  us 
for  mledical  treatment.  We  have  a  higher  vocation  to  fulfill.” 
He  also  wrote  to  a  fellow- worker  in  China :  ‘  ‘  After  all,  our  great 
work  lies  in  bringing  home  the  love  of  God  to  our  patients.  ’  ’  He 
was  able  to  do  effective  evangelistic  work  not  only  among  the 
poor  but  also  for  “those  in  Caesar’s  household.” 

Great  was  the  loss  to  China  in  the  sudden  death  from  pneu¬ 
monia  on  April  1,  1898,  of  him  who  was  justly  termed,  “The 
Beloved  Physician  of  Tientsin.”  As  a  pioneer  he  materially 
helped  to  allay  the  suspicion  and  hostility  of  the  Chinese  and 
did  a  notable  work  in  laying  foundations  upon  which  the  present 
magnificent  superstructure  of  medical  training  and  ministry  is 
now  reared. 


6 


INCIDENTS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF 
DR:  JOHN  KENNETH  MACKENZIE 

Reprinted  from  “John  Kenneth  Mackenzie,  Medical  Missionary 

to  China” 

by  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Bryson 

by  permission  of  the  publishers,  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

His  Parentage  and  Early  Employment.  (Pp.  5,  5-6,  7- 

8.) 

It  was  in  this  town  (Yarmouth,  England)  that  on  August 
25th,  1850,  a  child  was  born  who  was  destined,  in  the  providence 
of  God,  to  do  so  much  towards  carrying  relief  and  healing  to  the 
homes  of  one  of  the  most  ancient  of  nations.  .  .  . 

John  Kenneth  Mackenzie  was  the  younger  son  of  Alexander 
and  Margaret  Mackenzie,  his  father  being  a  Scotchman  from 
Ross-shire,  and  his  mother  a  Welsh  lady  from  Breconshire.  On 
both  sides  his  grandparents  were  pious  people,  and  his  paternal 
great-grandfather  was  looked  up  to  as  an  eminently  God-fearing 
man  in  the  district  in  which  he  lived.  An  enormous  ivory  snuff¬ 
box,  mounted  with  silver,  with  his  name  and  arms  and  the  date 
of  presentation,  1786,  engraved  on  it,  is  preserved  in  the  family. 
It  was  presented  to  him  by  the  Church  members,  and  is  a  curious 
sign  of  old  Scotch  habits. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mackenzie  removed  from  Yarmouth  to  Bristol 
when  their  younger  son  was  an  infant,  and  it  was  in  that  city 
his  boyhood  and  early  youth  were  spent.  Kenneth’s  father  and 
mother  were  both  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Bristol, 
his  father  being  for  many  years  an  elder  there,  till  laid  aside  by 
ill  health  and  advancing  years.  The  first  pastor  of  this  Church, 
the  Rev.  Matthew  Dickie,  who  died  in  1871,  was  a  powerful 
preacher  and  an  eminent  Christian.  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  deeply 
attached  to  him. 

In  his  boyhood  the  lad  Kenneth  is  spoken  of  as  being  of  a 
reserved,  retiring  disposition,  but  quick-tempered  and  easily  pro¬ 
voked.  He  was  remarkable  in  after  life  for  great  strength  of 
will  and  undaunted  courage  in  the  face  of  difficulties  that  would 
have  made  many  men  despair  and  completely  lose  heart. 

To  his  Highland  blood  doubtless  he  owed  a  certain  reticence 
of  manner,  combined  with  an  intensity  of  feeling,  which  in  a 
marked  degree  characterized  his  likes  and  dislikes.  Although 

7 


not  without  faults  of  temper,  he  had  a  very  tender  and  sym¬ 
pathising  heart,  and  much  gentleness  and  delicacy  of  manner. 
He  could  be  stern  at  times,  but  it  was  conviction  and  strength  of 
principle,  not  harshness  of  disposition,  that  prompted  his  ac¬ 
tions  on  these  occasions.  .  .  . 

His  education  was  carried  on  at  a  private  school  in  Bristol, 
by  Dr.  John  Stone  of  King  Square;  but  he  showed  little  liking 
for  study.  There  was  little  to  distinguish  his  early  days  from 
those  of  other  boys  full  of  spirits,  fonder  of  healthy  exercise  than 
of  school  work.  He  left  school  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  entered 
business  as  a  clerk  in  a  merchant’s  office. 

His  Conversion.  (pP.  8,  9 ,  10-11.) 

During  this  tinge  he  seems  to  have  occupied  his  spare  hours 
with  general  reading  of  an  instructive  and  helpful  character, 
with  a  view  to  mental  development.  He  joined  some  of  his 
young  acquaintances  in  attending  various  meetings  which  were 
held  regularly  at  the  rooms  of  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Asso¬ 
ciation  in  Bristol.  .  .  . 

The  first  of  the  occasions  mentioned  above,  which  seems  to 
have  formed  an  important  link  in  the  chain  of  events  which 
were  blessed  by  the  Spirit  to  the  awakening  of  young  Mac¬ 
kenzie  and  bring  him  to  the  step  of  entire  consecration  to  the 
Master's  service,  was  a  certain  May  Sunday  in  the  year  1867. 
The  subject  for  conversation  at  the  Bible-class,  we  are 
told,  was  “A  Good  Conscience,”  and  many  of  the  young 
men  in  attendance  were  much  impressed.  Before  they  separatee!, 
an  address  was  given  by  Mr.  D.  L.  Moody,  who  was  then  on  his 
first  visit  to  England,  previous  to  the  time  when  he  made  his 
great  evangelistic  tour. 

The  young  men  who  desired  prayer  to  be  offered  on  their 

behalf  were  requested  to  rise  from  their  seats,  and  Mackenzie 

with  manv  others  did  so.  Fifteen  members  of  the  class  decided 
«/ 

for  Christ ;  but  although  he  of  whom  we  write  always  dated 
his  earnest  desire  for  a  spiritual  life  from  that  occasion — and  he 
was  undoubtedly  deeply  impressed  by  the  afternoon’s  services — 
yet,  as  he  himself  remarks  in  a  letter  of  a  year  later,  “It  was 
only  momentary,  and  I  soon  fell  away.”  .  .  .  • 

The  anniversary  of  the  day  on  which  he  had  been  impressed 
by  Mr.  Moody’s  address  drew  near,  and  once  again  Mackenzie 
was  found  in  his  old  place  in  the  Association  rooms. 

On  this  occasion  Mr.  W.  Hind  Smith,  of  Exeter  Hall  , London, 
then  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Secretary  in  the  north  of  England,  was  pres¬ 
ent,  and  had  been  asked  to  address  the  meeting.  The  rooms  were 


8 


full  to  overflowing,  and  at  the  close  of  his  remarks  Mr.  Smith 
called  upon  the  young  men  present  openly  to  accept  or  refuse 
Christ  as  their  Master.  It  was  a  solemn  moment  for  more  than 
one  of  his  audience  when,  after  a  considerable  pause,  Kenneth 
Mackenzie  and  several  of  his  companions  rose  up  and  avowed 
themselves  followers  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  One  of  the  young  men 
who  on  this  occasion  confessed  his  faith  in  Christ,  after  the  lapse 
of  some  years,  followed  his  friend  of  earlier  days  to  China,  and 
is  now  engaged  in  work  there  in  connection  with  the  China  Inland 
Mission.  He  speaks  of  the  joy  with  which  all  their  hearts  were 
filled  as  they  left  the  Association  rooms  on  that  memorable  after¬ 
noon,  and  of  how,  as  three  of  them  accompanied  Mackenzie  part 
of  the  way  home,  upon  reaching  a  quiet  spot  on  the  hill-top,  they 
re-dedicated  themselves  to  be  henceforth,  in  the  strength  of  Jesus, 
true-hearted  followers  of  their  blessed  Master. 

His  Decision  to  go  to  China.  ( Pp .  23-2 J.) 

It  was  while  in  Edinburgh  obtaining  his  physician’s  diploma 
that  Mackenzie  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Lowe,  of  the 
Edinburgh  Medical  Missionary  Society.  He  had  already  felt 
himself  drawn  towards  China  as  a  field  of  labour,  having  been 
much  interested  in  the  memoirs  of  Burns  and  Henderson  and 
their  work  in  that  land.  Afterwards,  an  address  delivered  by  the 
Rev.  Griffith  John,  at  Colston  Hall,  Bristol,  had  stirred  his  heart 
and  strengthened  his  desire  to  devote  his  life  to  service  for  the 
Master  in  the  far-off  “Middle  Kingdom.”  By  this  time  Mr.  John 
had  returned  to  his  work  in  China,  but  another  member  of  the 
Hankow  Mission  was  at  home  on  furlough,  and  in  frequent  con¬ 
versations  w*ith  Dr.  Lowe  had  laid  before  him  the  great  need  there 
was  for  a  medical  missionary  to  take  charge  of  the  hospital  there. 
Just  at  that  time,  stations  in  various  parts  of  the  mission  field 
were  in  need  of  medical  men,  while  all  the  students  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  Edinburgh  Medical  Mission  who  expected  to  grad¬ 
uate  within  the  next  eighteen  months  had  already  received 
appointments.  It  was  decided,  therefore,  to  appeal  to  advanced 
medical  students  and  young  medical  men,  in  the  hope  that  some 
one  might  be  led  to  offer  himself  for  this  service.  A  letter  to 
this  effect  was  inserted  in  the  Edinburgh  Medical  Missionary 
Journal ,  and  arrested  Mackenzie’s  attention.  He  sought  an 
introduction  to  the  writer,  and  made  himself  fully  acquainted 
with  all  circumstances  connected  with  the  Hankow  work.  Just 
before  leaving  the  beautiful  northern  capital,  he  spent  a  long 
afternoon  with  his  new  friend,  afterwards  a  colleague  of  his 
own  both  in  Hankow  and  in  Tientsin.  Pacing  up  and  down 
Prince’s  Street,  they  talked  over  the  needs  of  the  station  far  away 
in  Central  China ;  and  the  young  doctor  seemed  to  hear  the 


9 


voice  of  the  Master  calling  him  to  offer  himself,  his  talents  and 
his  energies  for  his  Lord’s  nse  in  that  great  Chinese  city.  He 
returned  to  Bristol  with  his  mind  full  of  the  idea,  but  determined 
to  wait  upon  God  in  prayer  for  clearer  guidance  in  the  matter. 

His  First  “ Test' ’  Case.  ( Pp .  46-47.) 

Writing  to  his  brother  he  says:  “You  have  probably  heard 
something  of  the  tremendous  prejudice  which  the  Chinese  have 
to  everything  which  is  foreign.  A  marked  instance  of  this  occur¬ 
red  soon  after  I  arrived.  One  of  the  deacons  of  the  native 
Church,  a  very  good  devoted  Christian,  was  taken  ill;  he  got 
worse,  and  then  Mr.  John  told  him  that  a  new  doctor  had  come 
out  from  England,  who  would  probably  come  and  see  him  if 
sent  for.  At  the  same  time  he  asked  me  if  I  would  go.  Of 
course  I  was  very  willing,  but  the  man  would  not  send  for  me, 
and  told  Mr.  John  that  they  had  doctors  and  remedies  of  their 
own.  He  is  a  very  intelligent  man,  an  earnest  Christian,  and  one 
very  often  meeting  with  foreigners.  For  twenty  days  he  was 
very  ill,  getting  worse  and  worse,  during  which  time  he  had  five 
Chinese  doctors.  One  afternoon  I  had  a  note  from  Mr.  John, 
written  at  this  man’s  house,  asking  me  to  come  down,  as  the 
people  had  consented  to  my  seeing  him.  Mr.  John  was  very 
anxious  about  him,  for  the  man  was  a  very  useful  Christian  and 
could  hardly  be  spared.  I  went  down  at  once,  and  found 
the  man  dying;  they  had  only  sent  for  me  when  they  thought 
all  hope  was  gone.  He  was  in  a  burning  fever,  with  a  tempera¬ 
ture  of  103°,  with  a  very  rapid  pulse  and  dreadfully  emaciated ; 
for  he  had  only  taken  rice-water  for  twenty  days  and  conse¬ 
quently  his  weakness  was  extreme.  I  saw  that  he  could  not  live 
long  unless  the  fever  was  stopped,  as  he  had  no  strength ;  and 
believing  that  malaria  was  at  the  bottom  of  it,  I  determined  to 
give  him  a  large  dose,  twenty  grains,  of  quinine  straight  off.  The 
only  objection  was  that  if  it  failed  they  would  say  that  I  had  has¬ 
tened  his  death,  so  Mr.  John  told  me.  However,  I  did  what  was 
right,  and  gave  him  the  dose,  but  I  was  not  allowed  to  give  him 
food.  In  the  evening  they  sent  to  say  he  was  much  worse,  I  went 
down  and  found  the  small  room  crammed  with  friends,  waiting 
to  see  him  die,  while  his  own  family  were  pulling  him  about, 
thinking  to  prevent  his  going  off.  The  man  was  delirious  from 
the  quinine.  I  turned  all  the  people  out  except  his  wife  and  son, 
and  managed,  after  very  great  persuasion  from  Mr.  John,  to  get 
them  to  leave  him  alone.  Before  we  left  he  had  fallen  into  a 
sound  sleep.  In  the  morning,  on  our  way  to  the  house,  we  met 
his  son  coming  to  tell  us  that  he  had  slept  all  night.  We  found 
him  dreadfully  weak,  but  without  a  trace  of  fever ;  still  his  weak¬ 
ness  was  very  dangerous  yet ;  his  friends  were  willing  now  to  give 


10 


him  anything  I  ordered,  and  so  we  poured  in  milk  and  eggs,  beef 
tea  and  quinine.  Now  he  is  able  to  walk  about  his  room  and  en¬ 
joy  his  rice  again.  This  case  has  done  me  good,  for  it  has  given 
the  natives  confidence.  Since  the  man’s  recovery  his  wife  has 
been  taken  ill,  and  they  at  once  sent  for  me ;  she  is  now  all  right 
again.  I  have  also  attended  the  child  of  a  relative  who  was  very 
ill.  But  the  Chinese  will  only  come  to  us  when  other  help  is  of 
no  avail.” 

Increasing  Usefulness .  (Pp.  57-59.) 

As  the  days  went  on,  Dr.  Mackenzie’s  hospital  work  occupied 
more  and  more  of  his  time,  the  patients  who  attended  at  the 
dispensary  rapidly  increasing  in  numbers.  “I  have  been  very 
busy,  hardly  able  to  touch  Chinese  study  for  the  last  few  days, 
with  so  many  hospital  patients,”  he  writes  in  November.  “I  have 
sought  ever  since  coming  here  to  keep  the  work  quiet,  simply  to 
keep  it  going  by  seeing  those  who  present  themselves,  but  making 
it  as  little  known  as  possible,  that  I  may  get  the  chief  part  of 
the  day  for  the  language.  But  I  find  the  hospital  is  growing 
popular  rather  too  soon.  The  family  of  a  farmer,  coming  from 
a  town  called  Mien-yang,  one  hundred  miles  distant,  has  just 
arrived  here.  The  two  daughters,  fine  handsome  girls  of  four¬ 
teen  and  sixteen,  were  brought  here  just  before  my  arrival ;  they 
had  cataract  in  both  eyes  from  birth,  and  had  never  seen.  We 
operated  upon  them ;  both  cases  were  successful,  and  the  girls 
can  now  see  well.  They  are  very  intelligent,  and  became  deeply 
interested  in  the  truth.  Before  they  returned  home,  Mr.  John 
baptized  them  both.  On  this  second  visit,  they  came  bringing 
with  them  their  mother,  a  woman  of  about  forty  years  of  age, 
who  had  also  been  blind  for  twenty-six  years ;  there  was  another 
middle-aged  relative  with  them  who  had  been  unable  to  see  for 
fifteen  years ;  and  a  large  party  of  neighbours  accompanied 
them  suffering  from  various  ailments.  The  daughters  said, 
though  they  thought  their  mother’s  eyes  were  affected  in  the  same 
way  as  their  own  had  been,  they  feared  since  she  had  been  blind 
for  so  many  years  she  was  past  all  hope  of  cure.  They  had, 
however,  been  teaching  her  all  they  had  learned  of  the  religion 
of  Jesus,  and  she  had  come  with  them  to  be  further  instructed  in 
the  truth,  as  she  wished  to  become  a  Christian  also.  I  operated 
today  upon  the  four  cataract  cases,  and  removed  a  disorganized 
eye,  which  was  leading  to  the  destruction  of  the  other  in  the  case 
of  a  lad  who  accompanied  this  party ;  all  the  cases  look  well  so 
far.”  A  fortnight  after  he  writes:  “ Today  I  removed  the  band¬ 
ages  from  the  eyes  of  the  woman  operated  upon  for  cataract. 
She  could  tell  me  I  have  whiskers — a  strange  thing  to  the  Chinese 


11 


— and  that  I  wore  glasses.  Her  companion  is  getting  on  well, 
but  will  require  further  operative  treatment.  Of  late  I  have  been 
besieged  with  cases  of  eye  disease.  This  woman,  her  husband,  a 
man  of  considerable  character,  and  their  youngest  child,  were 
baptized  upon  a  profession  of  their  faith  on  the  last  Sunday  of 
1875.”  Writing  to  a  friend  of  this  case,  Dr.  Mackenzie  mentions 
the  woman’s  gratitude  for  the  relief  experienced,  and  remarks: 

‘  ‘  The  other  day  she  prayed  that  the  blessing  of  God,  the  one  true 
God  of  whom  she  had  learned,  might  rest  upon  me  for  what  I 
had  done  for  her.” 

Methods  of  the  Chinese  Doctors.  ( Pp .  102-103.) 

Writing  on  this  subject,  Dr.  Mackenzie  says: 

“Chinese  doctors  profess  to  be  able  to  diagnose  disease  by  the 
state  of  the  pulse  only.  Their  knowledge  of  anatomy  and  physi¬ 
ology  is  almost  nil ;  yet  in  place  of  exact  knowledge  they  substi¬ 
tute  the  most  absurd  theories.  The  nature  of  disease  being  un¬ 
known,  they  attribute  to  the  influence  of  the  “five  elements”  the 
onset  of  disease.  To  a  large  extent  the  physiological  action  of 
drugs  is  unknown,  and  most  wonderful  healing  properties  are  at¬ 
tributed  to  such  substances  as  dragons’  teeth,  fossils,  tiger  bones, 
pearls,  etc. 

“A  Chinese  doctor  examines  the  pulse  of  each  wrist  of  his 
patient  with  much  solemnity,  the  sick  person’s  hand  resting 
meantime  upon  a  cushion,  while  the  friends  stand  round  watch¬ 
ing  the  operation  with  much  awe.  The  tongue  is  then  examined, 
and  a  prescription  written  out ;  the  doctor  then  departs,  after 
giving  his  diagnosis  and  going  into  long  explanations  of  what  is 
taking  place  in  his  patient’s  interior.  Many  of  the  Chinese 
wonder  much  that  foreign  physicians  should  make  so  many  en¬ 
quiries  of  their  patients;  they  think  that  they  should  be  able  to 
find  out  all  about  such  matters  from  the  condition  of  the  pulse. 

“Moreover,  superstitious  notions  and  practices  control  and 
pervert  medicine.  In  almost  every  case  of  sickness,  idols,  astrol¬ 
ogers,  and  fortune-tellers  are  consulted.  Disease  is  generally 
attributed  to  the  anger  of  the  gods,  or  to  a  visitation  of  evil 
spirits ;  the  priests  indeed  teach  this  for  their  own  ends.  Charms 
are  in  general  use  to  expel  evil  spirits  and  pacify  the  offended 
gods,  and  many  idolatrous  rites  are  employed.  The  noise  of 
gongs  and  fire-crackers  used  in  these  observances  is  constantly 
heard,  and  of  necessity  proves  very  injurious  to  a  patient  whose 
nervous  system  is  weakened  by  disease.  The  charms  are  written 
out  and  pasted  about  the  sick-room ;  sometimes  these  marvelous 
pieces  of  paper  are  burned,  and  the  ashes  used  to  make  a  decoc- 


12 


tion,  which  the  patient  is  ordered  to  drink.  It  is  not  wonderful, 
therefore,  that,  medical  science  being  in  so  unsatisfactory  a  state 
in  China,  the  cures  wrought  by  the  foreign  doctors  seem  to  the 
people  little  short  of  miraculous ;  and  in  many  cases  the  difficulty 
is  not  to  get  the  people  to  believe  in  the  foreign  medical  man,  but 
rather  for  them  to  understand  there  is  a  limit  to  his  healing 
power. ’  ’ 

Called  to  Treat  the  Wife  of  Li  Hung  Chang.  (Pp.  177- 
179.) 

“It  was  August  1st,  and  the  day  of  our  weekly  prayer-meet¬ 
ing,  when  the  missionaries  and  native  helpers  meet  for  prayer 
and  consultation.  Our  subject  that  morning  was  the  words  of 
our  Lord,  ‘Ask,  and  it  SHALL  be  given  you.’  And  again  we 
pleaded  for  an  answer  to  the  memorial,  and  that  God  would 
remember  our  Medical  Mission  needs.  While  we  were  praying, 
the  Lord  was  already  answering.  That  same  morning  a  member 
of  the  English  Legation,  closeted  with  the  Viceroy,  observed  that 
he  was  very  sad.  On  asking  the  reason,  the  reply  was,  ‘My  wife 
is  seriously  ill — dying ;  the  doctors  have  told  me  this  morning 
she  cannot  live.’  ‘Well,’  said  the  Englishman,  ‘why  don’t  you 
get  the  help  of  the  foreign  doctors  in  Tientsin?  They  might  be 
able  to  do  something  even  yet.’  At  first  the  Viceroy  objected 
that  it  would  be  quite  impossible  for  a  Chinese  lady  of  rank  to 
be  attended  by  a  foreigner ;  but  by-and-bye  his  own  good  sense, 
led  by  God’s  Spirit,  triumphed,  and  he  sent  down  a  courier  to 
the  foreign  settlement  for  Dr.  Irwin  and  for  me.  It  was  just  as 
our  prayer-meeting  was  breaking  up  that  the  courier  arrived 
with  his  message.  Here  was  the  answer  to  our  prayers !  ’  ’ 

The  doctors,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Pethick,  rode  up  at  once  to 
the  yamen  of  the  Viceroy.  After  an  interview  with  His  Excel¬ 
lency,  who  is  deeply  attached  to  his  wife,  and  in  her  serious  ill¬ 
ness  had  practically  suspended  all  public  business,  they  were 
conducted  into  the  inner  apartments,  and  there  saw  the  sick  lady. 
This,  to  Western  ideas,  would  be  considered  a  very  natural  and 
ordinary  occurrence ;  but  according  to  Chinese  notions  it  was  a 
very  extraordinary  proceeding. 

“Three  years  ago,”  writes  Dr.  Mackenzie,  “while  in  Hankow 
I  was  called  in  to  attend  a  sick  lady,  the  wife  of  a  merchant,  but 
was  not  allowed  to  see  her  face.  A  hole  was  made  in  a  curtain, 
through  which  her  arm  was  protruded,  that  I  might  examine  her 
pulse  and  so  diagnose  the  disease.  In  this  case  we  two  foreign 
doctors  had  free  permission  to  examine  and  question  our  patient, 
who  was  the  wife  of  the  leading  Viceroy  of  the  Empire.” 


13 


They  found  the  lady  very  ill — in  a  most  critical  condition, 
and  at  first  do  not  seem  to  have  been  hopeful  of  a  successful 
issue. 

It  was  necessary  for  Dr.  Mackenzie  to  come  down  to  the 
settlement  for  medicines,  and  upon  his  return  home  he  found  a 
number  of  Christian  natives  in  his  colleague’s  study,  earnestly 
talking  over  the  wonderful  event  of  the  day.  “What  chance  was 
there  of  Lady  Li ’s  recovery  ?  ’  ’  was  the  eager  inquiry  from  all ; 
but  the  Doctor  could  give  no  very  hopeful  reply.  ‘  ‘  She  is  very 
ill ;  I  fear  there  is  not  much  hope,”  he  said,  “but  you  must  just 
keep  on  praying.” 

He  returned  to  his  illustrious  patient,  and  remained  in  the 
yamen  all  night,  to  enable  the  Viceroy,  whose  anxiety  was  now 
somewhat  allayed,  to  get  some  needed  sleep. 

“We  were  in  close  attendance,  seeing  our  patient  twice  a  day 
for  six  days,”  writes  the  Doctor,  “when,  by  the  mercy  of  God,  the 
lady  was,  humanly  speaking,  out  of  danger.” 

A  Morning  at  the  Hospital.  (Pp.  213-215.) 

Writing  for  friends  at  home,  the  Doctor  gives  them  the 
following  graphic  account  of  his  daily  work : 

“Let  me  take  you  in  thought  to  our  Chinese  hospital.  As¬ 
cending  a  broad  flight  of  stone  steps  to  the  verandah,  we  pass 
into  a  lofty  hall  and  enter  the  waiting  room.  Forms  are  ranged 
down  the  whole  length  of  it  and  at  both  sides.  Texts  of  Scripture 
in  Chinese  decorate  the  walls,  while  at  one  end  of  the  room  stands 
a  chair  and  table. 

“The  hour  is  nine  o’clock,  and  the  gong  is  sounding  for 
morning  prayers.  Already  groups  of  men  are  collected  from 
the  city  and  villages  around,  some  having  their  bedding  by  their 
side  done  up  in  bundles.  There  is  a  man  nearly  blind ;  his  little 
son  has  led  him  here  this  morning;  here  sits  a  lame  man,  with 
his  crutches  in  his  hand.  That  pale,  hollow-cheeked,  feeble  man 
has  probably  dysentery  or  phthisis.  The  sallow,  emaciated  opium 
smoker  is  also  there,  and  one  who  is  suffering  from  a  horrible 
tumour  has  come  up  for  operation.  As  the  gong  beats,  the  in¬ 
patients  who  are  sufficiently  convalescent  come  trooping  in ;  a 
strange  spectacle,  indeed,  with  their  bandages  and  dressings  on. 
Here  come  the  assistants,  and  now  we  all  take  our  seats. 

•  “A  hymn  is  given  out — perhaps  it  is  one  from  Sankey’s  col¬ 
lection,  then  a  portion  of  Scripture  is  read,  verse  about.  The 
subject  is  probably  a  Gospel  one,  very  likely  a  case  of  healing. 
It  is  explained,  and  lessons  are  drawn  from  it ;  the  patients,  who 


14 


continue  to  drop  in,  are  generally  very  quiet  and  attentive.  The 
meeting  closes  at  the  end  of  half  an  hour  with  prayer.  Then  the 
medical  missionary  crosses  to  the  dispensary,  while  the  native 
evangelist  continues  to  talk  to  the  patients  as  they  wait  for  their 
turn.  And  now  the  work  of  healing  begins ;  one  by  one  the 
patients  come  into  the  dispensary.  This  is  a  large  room,  with  two 
sides  occupied  with  shelves  and  drawers  containing  our  stock-in- 
trade.  In  front  is  a  counter,  at  which  the  dispensers  are  at 
work  putting  up  medicines.  At  the  table  sits  the  writer,  taking 
down  the  particulars  of  each  case,  and  making  out  the  tickets. 
On  one  side  of  the  room  is  a  row  of  chairs  and  small  square 
tables,  a  table,  or  tea-poy,  being  placed  between  two  chairs. 

“Here  comes  a  typical  case,  led  by  a  friend — a  man  suffer¬ 
ing  from  eye  disease.  From  the  ineffectual  attempt  he  makes 
to  see  you,  his  sight  is  evidently  very  bad.  You  examine  his  in¬ 
flamed  eyes,  and  find  that  to  protect  them  from  the  glare  and  dust 
he  is  constantly  contracting  his  eyelids.  The  inflammation,  there¬ 
fore,  spreads  to  the  lids,  which  become  permanently  contracted. 
The  rubbing  of  the  turned-in  lids  and  lashes  upon  the  tender  eye¬ 
ball  leads  from  bad  to  worse,  until,  from  neglect  and  ignorance, 
fatal  blindness  often  results. 

1  ‘  Happily,  the  case  this  morning  is  not  of  long  standing ;  the 
patient  is  told  that  he  must  become  an  in-patient,  undergo  a 
slight  operation,  and  there  is  every  prospect  of  his  sight  being 
greatly  improved  and  the  probability  of  a  complete  cure. 

“If  the  patient  is  a  stranger,  at  the  word  operation,  he  will 
probably  start  back  in  dismay,  exclaiming,  'Cut!  No,  never!’ 
You  quietly  call  to  one  of  the  assistants  to  lead  the  patient,  with 
his  friend,  to  one  of  the  wards  to  rest  awhile.  There  is  sure  to 
be  a  similar  case  under  treatment,  and  the  testimony  of  one  of 
the  man ’s  own  countrymen  is  of  more  weight  with  him  than  any 
amount  of  arguing  on  our  part.  By  the  time  we  are  ready  to 
operate,  he  has  probably  made  his  appearance  again,  and  is  smil¬ 
ingly  consenting. 

“But  we  must  hurry  on,  or  our  morning’s  work  will  not  be 
finished.  One  by  one  the  patients  follow  each  other ;  the  serious 
cases  are  urged  to  remain,  or  are  told  frankly  that  we  can  do 
nothing  for  them.  The  rest  have  wounds  dressed,  bandages  or 
splints  applied,  and  medicines  given  to  them.” 

Founds  a  Medical  College.  (Pp.  220-230,  231.) 

In  a  letter  to  the  Foreign  Secretary  of  the  London  Mission¬ 
ary  Society,  Mackenzie  thus  describes  the  new  branch  of  service 
which  he  had  undertaken. 


15 


“One  interesting  feature  worthy  of  special  remark  has  been 
the  establishment  of  a  small  medical  school  during  the  past  year. 
You  will  no  doubt  be  aware  that  the  Chinese  government,  about 
ten  years  ago,  at  the  instigation  of  a  few  of  their  enlightened 
men,  opened  an  educational  mission  in  America.  They  selected 
from  respectable  families,  chiefly  in  Canton  and  Shanghai,  lads 
from  ten  to  twelve  years  of  age  and,  under  the  supervision  of 
Mr.  Yung  Wing,  placed  them  in  the  best  schools  of  America. 
The  senior  students  had  all  passed  through  the  elementary 
schools,  and  had  spent  two  years  in  college,  when  last  year  the 
mandate  went  forth  from  Peking  recalling  the  whole  mission. 

“This  sudden  action  was  due  to  certain  reports  having 
reached  the  Peking  Foreign  Office,  to  the  effect  that  the  students 
were  throwing  aside  the  manners  and  customs  of  their  forefath¬ 
ers,  and,  in  some  cases,  it  was  even  feared  were  adopting  not 
only  foreign  ideas,  but  also  foreign  religions.  When  I  heard  of 
their  contemplated  return,  I  drew  up  a  memorial,  requesting  the 
Viceroy  to  place  eight  of  these  students  under  my  charge  for 
the  study  of  medicine  and  surgery,  with  a  view  to  their  being 
utilized  eventually  as  medical  officers  by  the  Government. 

This  proposition  was  agreed  to,  and  upon  the  arrival  of  the 
students  in  Tientsin  eight  of  them  were  accordingly  handed 
over  to  my  charge. 

“Being  wholly  under  Christian  influence,  it  is  our  earnest 
prayer  that  they  may  leave  our  hands  enlightened  spiritually  as 
well  as  medically. 

“Of  course,  the  establishment  of  this  school,  although  so  small 
at  present,  necessarily  greatly  increases  my  work ;  but  I  felt  that 
the  opportunity  was  one  that  should  not  be  missed.  We  want  to 
reach  the  educated  classes  of  this  land,  and  it  is  one  way  of  doing 
so.”  .  .  . 

A  few  days  after,  the  Doctor  writes : — ‘  ‘  The  scheme  has  been 
accepted.  So  the  first  Government  medical  school  in  China  will 
now  be  started,  in  a  small  way  at  first ;  yet  it  is  a  beginning.  I 
shall  have  my  hands  full,  however ;  it  is  thought  enough  at  home 
to  lecture  upon  one  subject,  such  as  physiology;  but  I  shall  have 
to  teach  subjects  all  round.  Yet  there  was  no  withdrawing  from 
the  responsibility,  unless  I  was  prepared  to  see  things  going  on  as 
they  are,  when  I  had  it  in  my  power  to  start  a  change  in  the  right 
direction.  In  fact,  I  rather  enjoy  the  idea  of  being  compelled  to 
tackle  the  subject,  for  I  know  that  in  teaching  others  I  shall  be 
best  taught  myself ;  probably  by  next  year  the  way  will  be  open 
to  enlarge  the  scheme,  and  get  help  from  home;  but  time  will 
tell.” 


16 


Death,  of  Pneumonia ,  in  His  38th  Year.  (Pp.  361 ,  363, 
367.) 

He  afterwards  took  a  walk  over  the  plain  with  Mr.  King.  The 
weather  had  been  unseasonably  warm  during  the  week,  and  conse¬ 
quently  heavy  winter  clothing  had  been  pretty  generally  laid 
aside.  One  of  the  cold,  bleak  winds  for  which  our  northern 
springs  are  distinguished  suddenly  came  up,  and  Dr.  Mackenzie, 
having  neglected  to  take  with  him  his  overcoat,  took  a  severe 
chill.  On  the  next  day,  though  evidently  suffering  from  cold,  he 
attended  as  usual  both  Chinese  and  English  services.  .  .  . 

After  conducting  his  afternoon  Bible  class,  he  attended  the 
English  service,  and  then  took  supper  with  his  old  friends,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Innocent  of  the  Methodist  New  Connexion  Mis¬ 
sion.  They  thought  him  feverish  and  far  from  well,  but  no  seri¬ 
ous  illness  was  anticipated.  The  fever  increased,  but  after  a 
restless  night,  the  Doctor  rose  and  went  to  the  dispensary  as 
usual.  His  strength  was,  however,  not  equal  to  his  desire  to 
work,  and  he  was  compelled  to  leave  the  place  where  he  had 
laboured  so  nobly  and  successfully,  for  the  last  time,  and  go  back 
to  his  bedchamber.  At  five  o’clock  on  Monday  afternoon,  the 
hour  of  our  weekly  prayer-meeting,  two  of  the  members  of  the 
Mission  were  absent.  Just  at  the  close  Mr.  Bryson  came  in  and 
informed  us  of  the  Doctor’s  serious  illness.  On  his  way  from 
the  city,  he  had  been  met  by  one  of  the  dispensers,  who  had 
told  him  that  Dr.  Mackenzie  was  very  ill,  and  the  fever  rising. 
Upon  going  up  to  his  room,  Dr.  Mackenzie  remarked  to  his  col¬ 
league,  “lam  afraid  this  is  going  to  be  something  rather  serious, 
I  have  never  felt  anything  like  it  before.  ”... 

Then,  at  a  suggestion  from  Mrs.  Lees  that  he  had  better  try 
and  get  a  little  sleep,  he  turned  over  on  his  side,  remarking,  “Oh, 
this  is  so  restful ;  I  feel  as  if  I  could  sleep  so  well  for  such  a  long 
time.” 

For  some  time  he  seemed  to  be  peacefully  sleeping,  till  sud¬ 
denly,  about  twenty  minutes  to  four,  the  heavy  breathing  sud¬ 
denly  stopped.  One  of  the  students,  who  had  been  watching  out¬ 
side  the  door,  instantly  noticed  the  change,  and  coming  in,  at 
once  felt  his  pulse,  and  discovered  that  thus  silently  and  peace¬ 
fully  he  had  gone  to  be  forever  with  the  Lord. 

There  seemed  to  be  something  specially  beautiful  in 
the  time  of  his  release.  “Very  early  in  the  morning,  while  it 
was  yet  dark,”  on  Easter  Day,  “God’s  finger  touched  him,  and 
he  slept”;  and  with  the  news  of  the  great  sorrow  which  had  fal¬ 
len  upon  us  as  a  Mission,  came  thoughts  of  all  that  the  glorious 
Resurrection  morning  signifies  to  sorrowing  hearts  down  all  the 
ages. 


17 


Present  Day  Medical  Progress  in  China.  (Pp.  64-06  of 
“The  Business  of  Missions”  by  Cornelius  H. 
Patton.) 

The  Shanghai  Survey  lists  326  mission  hospitals  in  237  cities. 
To  these  should  be  added  over  600  dispensaries,  either  associated 
with  a  hospital  or  the  sole  relief  base.  As  for  physicians,  there 
are  348  men  and  116  women,  464  in  all.  There  are  206  foreign 
nurses,  who  act  as  superintendents  of  hospitals  and  trainers  of 
native  nurses.  The  total  number  of  beds  reported  is  16,737,  an 
average  of  about  fifty  to  each  institution.  The  in-patients  in 
1920  were  144,477.  The  separate  treatments  run  into  the  mil¬ 
lions. 

This  is  sizable  work,  but  its  inadequacy,  nevertheless,  is  a 
painful  thing  to  contemplate.  Even  with  the  Chinese  doctors  in¬ 
cluded  who  have  had  scientific  training,  there  are  only  a  thou¬ 
sand  persons  to  give  medical  aid  to  a  population  of  four  hun¬ 
dred  million.  New  York  City,  with  a  population  of  seven  mil¬ 
lion,  has  over  9,000  physicians.  Every  man,  woman  and  child 
in  New  York  that  meets  with  an  accident  or  is  taken  ill,  can  have 
the  services  of  a  physician  within  a  few  minutes.  In  China  the 
vast  majority  must  do  without  any  such  help  whatever.  There 
are  hospitals  in  China  which  have  an  exclusive  constituency  of 
over  two  million.  Fenchowfu,  in  Shansi,  ministers  as  best  it  can 
to  a  population  of  not  fewer  than  five  million. 

Advantage  is  soon  to  be  taken  of  some  of  the  opportunities 
for  unlimited  expansion  in  this  great  work,  as  the  cause  of 
medical  education  is  coming  to  the  front,  and  projects  are  form¬ 
ing  to  train  native  physicians  in  large  numbers.  Until  recently, 
Mission  Boards  have  tackled  this  problem  alone.  Held  respon¬ 
sible  for  all  the  other  lines  of  humanitarian  and  spiritual  service 
as  well  as  for  medical  relief,  it  is  not  surprising  that  little  or  no 
room  could  be  found  in  their  budgets  for  setting  up  and  main¬ 
taining  medical  colleges,  the  most  expensive  of  all  institutions. 
Nevertheless,  a  brave  beginning  was  made,  as  from  the  first  it 
was  recognized  that  China  must  produce  her  own  physicians. 
Fortunately,  the  Rockefeller  Foundation  has  erected  the  Peking 
Union  Medical  College,  of  the  China  Medical  Board,  an  institu¬ 
tion  of  the  highest  grade,  located  in  China’s  capital  and  equipped 
to  turn  out  able  physicians  as  rapidly  as  Chinese  students  can 
be  properly  prepared  to  enter  its  halls. 

In  1906,  by  mutual  agreement  the  Union  Medical  College  of 
Peking  was  also  taken  over  by  the  China  Medical  Board  of  the 
Rockefeller  Foundation,  the  control  to  be  vested  in  a  board  of 
trustees  in  which  both  the  Missions  and  the  Foundation  are 


18 


represented.  The  Christian  basis  of  the  institution  is  always  to 
be  maintained,  and  the  original  missionary  purpose  safeguarded 
in  every  possible  way.  It  is  a  superb  medical  plant,  built  in  a 
modified -Chinese  style  of  architecture  that  cost  $7,000,000,  with 
a  teaching  staff  of  over  150,  and  an  annual  budget  running  close 
to  the  mill  ion-doll  ar  mark.  The  instruction  is  given  in  English, 
and  a  properly  qualified  Chinese  student  obtains  a  medical  train¬ 
ing  comparable  to  that  afforded  by  the  best  universities  of  Europe 
and  America.  An  important  feature  of  its  work  is  to  aid  out¬ 
lying  mission  hospitals  so  that  these  may  serve  as  models  to  the 
Chinese  in  the  matter  of  staff  equipment,  and  quality  of  service. 
Missionary  doctors  are  encouraged  to  attempt  research  work  and 
to  pursue  special  studies  at  Peking.  Advice  from  Peking  is  also 
available  for  the  outlying  institutions.  Furthermore,  grants  are 
made  for  pre-medical  work  to  certain  mission  colleges  in  order 
that  there  may  be  no  lack  of  students  fitted  to  enter  the  medical 
profession. 

At  the  dedication  exercises  of  the  new  plant,  in  1921,  the  fol¬ 
lowing  cablegram  was  received  from  Mr.  John  D.  Rockefeller : 

My  highest  hopes  are  centered  on  the  Peking  Union  Medical 
College  which  is  about  to  open  its  doors.  May  all  who  enter, 
whether  faculty  or  students,  be  fired  with  a  spirit  of  service 
and  may  the  institution  become  an  ever- widening  influence 
for  the  promotion  of  the  physical,  mental  and  moral  well¬ 
being  of  the  Chinese  nation. 


SERIES  OF  PROGRAMS  NOW  AVAILABLE 


Course  Number  One 

JAMES  CHALMERS,  Martyr  of  New  Guinea 
JAMES  GILMOUR,  Pioneer  in  Mongolia 
WILFRED  T.  GRENFELL,  Knight-Errant  of  the  North 
ADONIRAM  JUDSON,  Herald  of  the  Cross  in  Burma 
ION  KEITH-FALCONER,  Defender  of  the  Faith  in  Arabia 
DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  Africa’s  Pathfinder  and  Emancipator 
ALEXANDER  M.  MACKAY,  Uganda’s  White  Man  of  Work 
HENRY  MARTYN,  Persia’s  Man  of  God 
ROBERT  MORRISON,  Protestant  Pioneer  in  China 
JOHN  G.  PATON,  King  of  the  Cannibals 
MARY  SLESSOR,  The  White  Queen  of  Calabar 
MARCUS  WHITMAN,  Hero  of  the  Oregon  Country 

Course  Number  Two 

CAPTAIN  LUKE  BICKEL,  Master  Mariner  of  the  Inland  Sea 

WILLIAM  CAREY,  Founder  of  Modern  Missions 

ALEXANDER  DUFF,  India’s  Educational  Pioneer 

MARY  PORTER  GAMEWELL,  Heroine  of  the  Boxer  Rebellion 

FRANK  HIGGINS,  Sky  Pilot  of  the  Lumbermen 

RAYMOND  LULL,  First  Missionary  to  the  Moslems 

GEORGE  L.  MACKAY,  Pioneer  Missionary  in  Formosa 

JOHN  K.  MACKENZIE,  The  Beloved  Physician  of  Tientsin 

ROBERT  MOFFAT,  Friend  of  the  African 

JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON,  Martyr  Bishop  of  the  South 
Seas 

J.  HUDSON  TAYLOR,  Organizer  of  the  China  Inland  Mission 
JOHN  WILLIAMS,  Shipbuilder  in  the  South  Seas 

No.  320— 1M— May,  1926  20 


Booklets  25  Cents  Each 

A  reduction  of  50  cents  allowed  if  set  of  12  Booklets 

is  purchased 


